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When working with kids in tennis the key player is the parent. Usually it is one parent who is involved, it could be the father or the mother. If you are working with a kid you have to constantly work to be sure the parent is “on board” with what you are doing. The sooner you can make the kid “look” like a tennis player, then the more positive rapport you build with the parent. Early on in the course of the child learning tennis, there is a chance that the parent will be questioning if the kid can “really do it” and if the kid can actually learn the game. You will have to work with the kid and the parent to keep them “in it” the more the kid can play tennis, the better their skills will be and you will strengthen your case.

Also, the competition can be tricky. Kids and parents have a tendency to overreact. If the kid wins then the kid thinks they are “great” and their parent will be overjoyed at seeing how good their kid is at tennis. That is good for you as the coach. However, if the player gets on the court and loses then the kid thinks “they suck” and the parents are not impressed and it makes them wonder whey the kid is not winning and if they are even good at tennis.

The job of the coach is to help “sell the game” and help the parents understand that tennis is a PROCESS and it really does take time for the skills of the player to develop.